ADVENTURE, AMBITION, ATTITUDE

Never be defined by your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence. (Author Unknown)

Lay down what's good and find what's best. (The song "Breathe" by Jonny Diaz)

Have the courage to be truly happy. (Pope Francis)

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Blue Ink

“Something is wrong with Dad’s printer,” Cassie stated as she entered my office. She laid a paper in front of me on the desk. “I’m trying to print pictures of several paintings to share with my art class. Look how distorted the colors are.”

I found the Epson Owner’s Guide and flipped to the page that said “Troubleshooting.” Per its suggestion for poor quality printing, I ran a nozzle check, followed by a head cleaning.

“Try it now, Cass,” I said. “That should fix it.”

Cassie hit Print on the laptop and we both stared at the printer as it ejected the paper little by little. The colors hadn’t improved at all! I decided to open the machine and investigate the ink cartridges. All looked in order—the black cartridge was in the black slot, the yellow cartridge was in the yellow slot, the magenta cartridge was in the pink slot, and the cyan cartridge was in the blue slot. I popped out the black one, looked it over, and snapped it back into place, assuring it made a good connection. I did the same for the yellow and pink ones.

Hmmm, I thought. Maybe we got a lemon printer.

I suspected my investigation was unsuccessfully coming to an end. I popped out the final cartridge, the blue one, and then… I stood still for a second, holding it in my hand. My face broke into a smile. I had discovered the culprit! It was a tiny piece of yellow tape stretched across the ink opening. You know, that little yellow tab that is supposed to be removed before an ink cartridge is installed? I knew immediately that my non-techy husband was to blame.

The printer was new. The ink cartridges were full and in the right positions. But the potentially beautiful pictures would never have printed because something hidden was blocking the blue ink.

We have the potential for a beautiful life. Let’s not allow anything hidden to block us from it!

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“If we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9 MSG).